12 minute read
Agricultural engineering news and views
Editor’s Welcome
Despite, at the time of writing, just waving goodbye to storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin in swift succession, the daffodils and crocuses are starting to poke their way through. I can’t be alone in looking forward at this time of year? Surely Spring is just around the corner.
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This edition is all about ideas, specifically in Practice (p16) where we are expertly guided through the potential minefield of intellectual property and protecting rights. Likewise Alastair Tulloch’s opinion piece (p42) on the commercialisation of autonomous and precision farming technologies is worth a read.
We get a tantalising vision in On the Horizon (p14) of the NexCo Carrier, showing how arable technology may move forward. Spoiler alert, some readers will remember similar solutions in the past which promised the same and didn’t quite make it.
As ever, branch activity doesn’t stop and we have enjoyed face to face and virtual presentations from the regions, which are reported on in Membership Matters (p32).
Some basics are needed to maintain our professional status as engineers, including accurately recording Continuing Professional Development, which needn’t be a chore. Profession (p28) gives some pointers to help, alongside a member’s testimonial to encourage.
I hope you find this edition stimulating and an insight into the wider life of the Institution. May I wish you well for the next few months.
Andy Newbold
Editor
andy@farm-smart.co.uk
LE-TEC are looking for its next champion technicians to be the voice of Land-Based Engineering for 2022
With two categories this year, one for someone who is just embarking on their career and one for someone who has made a successful career and seen their vocation develop. A host of exciting prizes are up for grabs.
Whether you’re an apprentice technician just starting out, or a master technician with years of experience under your belt, LE-TEC are looking to hear from you.
Simply record a short video stating: • who you are and what you do, • how you got into this industry, • what makes it so rewarding, • and why others should consider it as a career.
Don’t worry if it’s a selfie style video, or a blockbuster production, it’s your story they want to hear, and that’s what could win the prize. Submit your video to; info@letec.co.uk by March 28th 2022. Prizes for 2022 include: • City & Guilds certified Refrigerant Handling Course and City & Guilds
Air Conditioning Course, for two winners kindly funded by AP Air
Europe. This will include meals and accommodation. • A Makita Radio kindly donated by
Makita UK
• BAGMA Handover and Installation
Training for two winners, kindly funded by Merlo UK Ltd. This will take place at the new Merlo training facilities and the prize will include meals and accommodation. • Various tool and equipment prizes to be announced very soon!
Decades of support, guidance and leadership to students from different backgrounds from across the world were recognised recently when Professor Richard Godwin was named Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year at the Times Higher Education Awards 2021. Judges were in unanimous agreement that the commitment of Richard Godwin, now a Professor Emeritus at Harper Adams University, to guiding more than 60 PhD students to successful completion of their doctorates made him a worthy recipient of the award.
“The evident lifelong dedication to nurturing, developing and promoting doctoral researchers from diverse backgrounds, in someone who is still doing so, meant he was the clear winner,” said the judging panel, who added that Professor Godwin had “enabled countless candidates and postdocs to access his extensive network of international contacts, giving them both academic and employment advantages. “Richard is well known among his supervisees for his openness to new ideas and for listening to and appreciating different opinions; yet just as impressive, if not more so, is the warmth and sincerity of tributes to Richard provided by his supervisees at all stages of their careers,” they added. Former students of Professor Godwin paid tribute to his mentorship while lending their support to his nomination, with one noting: “Professor Godwin, Dick, as we all call him, has always been very motivated, structured, detailed, helpful, supportive, he always has time for his students, gives them some space when needed and also works along them when things get difficult, as they always do in a PhD. From doing heavy calculus to digging soils and all the possible tasks in between, he can do it all!” Another said: “One of the things I admire in Dick is that he does not simply see a student as someone who carries out the research, graduates and then has no further contact with them.
“Dick has always taken a keen interest in all his students, gives them maximum help and guidance whilst they are undertaking their research, and continues this during their career.” “I hope to continue my scientific path, and to become a supervisor one day - and I will do my best to mimic Dick’s approach,” said another. Professor Godwin said: “I am honoured to receive THE Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year Award and I thank my colleagues, current and former doctoral students for the nomination. “The latter - from 21 countries - have now forged very significant careers in all aspects of agricultural engineering. I am proud of their achievements and when they say ‘thank you – you have changed my life for ever!’ it reminds us, as supervisors, we are not just fostering ‘good science and engineering’ but shaping the lives of future generations.” Professor Godwin received his award in front of nearly a thousand people who had gathered at the Hilton London Metropole hotel for the awards, which celebrated the higher education sector’s recent achievements, not least its outstanding response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
NOTICE OF MEETING
Notice is hereby given that the Seventy-sixth Annual General Meeting of the Institution will be held on;
Wednesday 27th April 2022
at 11am
Class UK Saxham Business Park, Bury St Edmunds IP28 6QZ
Agenda 1. To receive and consider the minutes of the seventy-fourth and seventy-fifth AGMs held on 27th April 2021 2.To propose as an Ordinary
Resolution: “That the
Annual General Meeting authorises the Trustees of the Institution to review members’ subscriptions and to make such adjustment, if any, as may be required with effect from 1 January 2023”. 3.To receive and consider the
Annual Report for the year ending 31 December 2021. 4.To receive and consider the Accounts for the year ending 31 December 2021. 5.To announce nominations for election to Council for the 2022/23 Session. 6.To re-appoint Landers
Accountants Ltd, registered auditors, as reporting accountants and to authorise the Executive to fix their remuneration
By Order of the Trustees
Charles Nicklin, Chief Executive and Secretary 10th February 2022
NB: ALL PAPERS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE IAGRE WEBSITE
Presidents elections 2022
Last year the Executive ratified a new procedure for the Election of future IAgrE Presidents. To be eligible for election you must have first served as a Vice President on the IAgrE Council and Executive. Former Vice Presidents were approached last Autumn and asked if they would like to stand as President for the term of 2024-2026. Three agreed and their details may be found below in alphabetical order (by surname). Vote with this link https://iagre.org/president-elections-2022 One vote per member – voting opens at 12 noon GMT on Monday 14 March 2022 and closes at 12 noon GMT on Friday 25 March 2022. If members do not have access to the internet they may telephone the Secretariat 01234 750876 and lodge their vote with Sarah or Alison or write to the Secretariat to arrive by noon on Friday 25 March 2022.
Prof Bruce Grieve, PhD, CEng, FIET, FIAgrE, FHEA
Chair in Agri-Sensing & Electronics, Director of the e-Agri Sensors Centre, University of Manchester: Before joining the University I gained c.20 years of industrial experience through an engineering career in global process and biotech companies, namely ICI, AstraZeneca and Syngenta Agribusiness. Principally in the fields of on-line analysis, control & sensors R&D; which then transitioned into the development and deployment of informatics systems within new integrated products for Sustainable Agriculture & Food.
What I feel I could bring to the presidency is a potentially different way of thinking about Engineering in Agriculture, both to the policy makers, in the private and public sector, and to the media, as a portal to public opinion. Exciting and attracting a new generation of entrepreneurial young engineers and scientists, from non-traditional engineering, life sciences and technology backgrounds, with the possibilities offered by careers in engineering for sustainable hi-tech farming.
Dr Mark Moore, FIAgrE
I have been involved in agriculture since I could reach the brake and clutch pedals of my grandfather’s MF185 tractor. On leaving school, I briefly worked for Eastern Tractors as a service technical before I went to study agricultural engineering at Rycotewood College, where I gained an OND and HND. In 1990 I graduated from Silsoe College and started with Massey Ferguson (now AGCO) on 9th July as a technical training instructor. My agricultural engineer skills have led to my current AGCO role of Director, Government Affairs. The aim is to increase awareness amongst policy makers on the opportunities to increase food production while mitigating climate change. Agricultural engineers are crucial to ensuring policies such as the EU Green Deal and UK ELMS, can and will be implemented successfully. This will be a team effort and achieved through talking to each other through organisations such as IAgrE, CEMA, AEA and Agri-EPI. Hopefully you understand my passion for our industry. I would like to bring this passion to the IAgrE and use it to develop greater recognition for the good work we do safeguarding food security. It would be rewarding to me to give something back to an industry that has supported me in a successful career, which is why I continue to support the Douglas Bomford Trust as a trustee.
David R White CEng, CEnv, FIAgrE, MIMechE, FHEA
I grew up on a mixed enterprise farm. After gaining a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters in Agricultural Machinery Design at Silsoe College, I became a research assistant at the Scottish Institute of Agricultural Engineering where I was part of a team obtaining operational data for agricultural tractors and combine harvesters.
I am a senior lecturer in engineering at Harper Adams University, I was a Member of the HSE Agricultural Safety Advisory Group (2002 to 2004), and a Trustee of The Douglas Bomford Trust (2012 to 2018). I am a jury panel member for the Helmut Claas Scholarship (2016 to date).
As we enter the era of Engineering 4.0 and Agriculture 4.0, there has never been a more exciting time to be an agricultural engineer. I am an agricultural engineer through and through and have made the IAgrE an integral part of my working career. It would be an honour to be President.
The full profiles are here:
2022 Claas Scholar announced
The 2022 Claas UK Scholarship for a Harper Adams University student has been awarded to Molly Robson, who is studying for a BEng in Agricultural Engineering and is the first female student to win this prestigious award.
Now in its 16th year, the Claas UK Scholarship was instigated in 2005 at the personal request of Helmut Claas and is awarded annually to a Year 2 Engineering Student at Harper Adams University. As this year’s Claas Scholar, Molly will receive £3,000 towards her education costs each academic year. In addition, she will do an initial three months placement with a Claas UK owned dealership, prior to a 12 month paid placement at the Claas headquarters at Harsewinkel in Germany. Here she will be working within the Advanced Functional Testing Department, focussing on harvesting machinery. Prior to attending Harper Adams University, Molly studied at Askham Bryan College for a Level 3 Advanced Technical Extended Diploma in Land Based Engineering. Molly is from a farming background and lives with her family on an arable farm in Darlington. When she’s not studying, Molly enjoys racing a V8 stock car, a sport she has been actively involved in since she was 12. Summing up on how she felt to be awarded this year’s Claas Scholarship, Molly commented: “To be a Claas scholar and have my placement with the company, is something I have wanted to achieve since I started my journey in the world of agricultural engineering. I am beyond excited for this opportunity, and I cannot wait to start this experience!” Claas UK has enjoyed very close ties with Harper Adams for many years, both through the Claas Foundation, but has also sponsored PhD thesis and research work at the University and provides work placement opportunities for several students each year. Many of these have gone on after graduation to be awarded training and career opportunities at Claas UK.
New Robotics specialist interest group
The application of AI and robotics to agriculture has seen an explosion in interest and investment in recent years. In what is being heralded as the Fourth Agricultural revolution, there are increasing numbers of engineers and technicians involved in the development and use of robotic technology.
The application of robotics to agricultural problems will undoubtedly redefine the economics of food production and open new opportunities for farmers and farming methods. The aim of the robotics and AI special interest group is to provide a forum for all IAgrE members to discuss, learn and increase their understanding of agricultural robotics and AI. The topics explored by the robotics special interest group will be both commercial and technical. All Robotics and AI Special interest group events will be open attendance to encourage involvement and interaction from a diverse audience, however the back catalog of event recordings will only be accessible to IAgrE members. The Robotics and AI special interest group is being headed up by Raymond King AMIAgrE, Lead Engineer at Small Robot Company and Kit Franklin C.Eng, MIAgrE, Senior Lecturer at Harper Adams University and Principal Investigator of Hands Free Farm. For more information or to find out how to get involved please contact Sarah at the Secretariat.
